Lucky No. 13

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Brooks Lawrence, who in 1951 becomes the first Black pitcher in the Harrisburg Senators’ all-time franchise history, runs his record at the start of the 1956 National League season to 13-0 with a 4-3 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers 68 years ago today at Crosley Field.

The Dodgers’ pitcher that day is future Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, then a relative neophyte whose record falls to 1-2 before a Tuesday night crowd of 20,540.

Lawrence finishes the 1956 season at 19-10.

For all of Koufax’s greatness – and there is plenty of that – his best start to any of his 12 seasons with the Dodgers comes in 1966, when he begins the season 3-0 on his way to a career-high 27 victories and an early retirement at the age of 30.

Lawrence remains the only National League pitcher to start a season 13-0 until 2016, when Stephen Strasburg – another former Harrisburg Senator – pushes his record to 13-0 with Washington’s 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park.